Crispy Herbed Chickpeas over Bucatini with Tomato Sauce

Things are hectic right now. It seems like every minute during this season is filled with holiday activities, whether its shopping for Christmas presents, attending Christmas functions, watching Hallmark Christmas movies, or baking Christmas treats! Busy times plus the fact that my diet has recently consisted of pumpkin molasses cookies, espresso shortbread with butterscotch glaze, the bag of potato chips someone left at our house from our Christmas party (I don't even like potato chips but these are just so DELICIOUS), and citrus fruit.

This is why it is KEY to have a couple healthy, easy, quick recipes on hand! Add warm and filling to the list, and here you have the perfect winter dinner!

Quinoa, Black Beans, and Sweet Potato with Spicy Lime Sauce

This recipe has been my go to recipe for years!! It is super quick, easy, and nutritious! Somehow, during the last couple of months, I managed to make it even easier by straight up microwaving the sweet potato instead of roasting it.... This recipe is will be the perfect addition to your life during these next few weeks when everyone seems to have delicious holiday candy and cookies on hand.

EASY Cracker-thin Pizza Crust + Delightful Pizza Accoutrements

I have been playing around with a new recipe for thinner crust pizza, almost cracker thin. I finally perfected it this summer!! If you have always wanted to make your own pizza dough, this is a GREAT recipe to start with! There are only 4-5 ingredients needed for the dough, and It is so much quicker than your usual pizza dough recipe! I also compiled some delightful pizza topping accoutrements that you must try, especially if you're looking for some new Meatless Monday recipes!

Thanksgiving Vegetarian Wild Rice Dressing with Roasted Hazelnuts

My least favorite Thanksgiving dishes seem to be the items that no one would ever dream of replacing. Every Thanksgiving, I see the sponge like, wood colored stuffing along side the worm-like green bean casserole. I usually pass up both of those options, and not just to make room for pumpkin pie. Now that I am in charge of Thanksgiving, I look forward to more than just rolls and pumpkin pie! One of the highlights of our holiday meals is definitely my Wild Rice dressing. It has been a mainstay on our table for about five years now, and was one of the first, more creative vegetable dishes I made when we started cutting meat out of our diets.

Romaine Dream Boats with Toasted Pepitas

I've been roasting squash and sweet potatoes almost daily trying to perfect recipes for Thanksgiving sides, and after eating squash all day I wanted something opposite of roasted root vegetables.I turned around and looked at the groceries waiting to be put away. A head of romaine, some raw pepitas, and a bag of unsweetened cocoa. Romaine! Romaine is crunchy and crispy! So are pepitas! And then, Romaine Dream Boats with Toasted Pepitas were born.

This recipe is so easy to make, its not even funny. You don't even need utensils!! With the Holiday season quickly approaching, this is a great quick and healthy option! It is also really easy to make it look fancy...

Butternut Squash Spread and Toasted Nuts and Seed Sprinkles on Toast

The deep reds, oranges, and golden yellows of the leaves signal the start of the Holiday season and summon the urge to be seek coziness and warm comfort foods, while visions of Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas parties dance in our heads.The time has come, and this year I greet the Holiday season with fresh determination to present our loved ones with flavorful, vegetable based dishes. As I've said before, squash is to Fall as tomatoes are to Summer. Which means I try to fit squash into everything we are eating, from stews, soups, chilis, pastas, salads, you name it.

Autumn Vegetable Salad

I love squash. Squash squash squash. Squash is the tomato of Fall. Don't you think??? Squash is also one of the main ingredients in a dish I recently had at Spoon and Stable. The Autumn Vegetable Salad. Which I haven't stopped thinking about since.

Pictures this: spelt berries, roasted squash, sliced figs, sprinkled with pecans, all on top of a buttermilk ranch drizzle. A pleasant conglomeration of textures and tastes.

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi with Microgreens

This is the easiest, most delicious way to make homemade pasta. Trust me. I've tried many recipes and most of them call for fancy pasta driers/tools or use a sack of flour. Or, in most cases, have left me with gummy, bloated, wormlike strings and dinner at 10:00 pm.

I had 3 issues to solve. The recipe needed to consider the following things:

Easy ingredient list
No frills preparation
Successful cooking method

Spinach and Chickpea Cazuela

As soon as we got back home from our travels, I hit the kitchen. The first recipe recreation I'd like to share is the Spinach and Chickpea Cazuela we had at Barcelona Wine Bar. With fall just around the corner, this is the PERFECT side to serve as a snack, appetizer, or side dish. It is warm, filling, and the cumin adds a smokey flavor. The roasted garlic and shallot contributes a sweet flavor that definitely plays well with the savory taste of cumin. There are only about nine ingredients involved (not including, water, salt, and pepper!). Most of them are pantry staples, so you probably have them all in your house right now! Except for the cumin seeds, maybe!

TACO TUESDAY - Homemade Healthier Tortillas

A couple of years ago, I did an internship with a health club in Minneapolis. I assisted with a twelve week program that provided a group of clients (about 25 - 30) with nutrition advice and 6:00 am workouts six days a week. I left my house by 5:00 am to get there on time, which means I woke up between 4:00 - 4:30 am every day. The quickest, most filling breakfast I could make, was a tortilla with egg whites, and maybe beans if I had enough time to open a can. My mouth is drier than the sahara desert just thinking about them. I cannot eat store bought tortillas. I hate the way they smell, taste, and last for years in the fridge. Even when they're slathered with peanut butter, I just can't do it.

I knew the solution was to make my own, but I was deterred for about 3 years by the fact that every single recipe I looked at involved lard or shortening. It took a couple months, but I finally developed a recipe and cooking method that works perfectly!